Shire



(No Modem 3 Sheets-sheet 1.

A. N.AM.ES.

THIGKENING THREAD AND TAKE-UP MEGHANISM EUR4 KNITTING MACHINES'.

No. 600,761. Patentedlvrar. 15,1898.

Illllllllll 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. N'. AMES. THIGKENING THREAD AND TAKE-UP MEGHANISM FOR (N'o Model.)

KNITTING MACHINES.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.-

A.N.AAMES. THIGKENING THREAD AND TAKE-UP MEGHANISMFOR KNITTING MACHINES.

4 Mar. 15,` 1898.

Nrrnn rricn.

ARTHUR N. AMES, OF FRANKLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO THE MAYO KNITTING MACHINE AND NEEDLE COMPANY, NEW HAMP- SHIRE.

THICKEN'INGTHREAD AND TAKE-UP MECHANIS-IVI FOR KNlTTlNG-ll/IACHINESVl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 600,761, dated lVIar-ch 15, 1898. Application led November 12 1894. Serial No. 528,459. (No model.)

` .To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR N. AMES, of Franklin, county of Merrimac, State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Thickening-Thread and Take-Up Mechanisms for Knitting-Machines, of which the fol lowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters and figures on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention in knitting-machines has especial reference to mechanisms for introducing into the work as needed additional or different threads.

My invention, generally speaking, comprehends a device for winding one thread about another without requiring the spools, cops, or sources of thread-supply to be movable and without putting into the threads back of the winding device an objectionable reverse or opposite twist.

My invention com prehends means for holding the free end of one thread previous tov winding and means for .throwing or moving said thread, or, as it is sometimes called, yarn, into position for engagement by said holding means, and also a cutting `device with means for moving the thread into position to be cut or severed thereby.

The above with other features of my invention will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

My invention -further comprehends the usual pivoted take-up,` with a retarding device to control its free movements and with an independently-movable spring-actuated lifter to raise the said take-up into its elevated or operative position, where it will serve to take up the slack in the thread. When the lifter referred to is removed from in front of the take-up, the latter, owing to its retarding device, descends into its normal or inoperative position only as it is drawn down by the thread.

In the drawings, Figure l shows in face view a sufficient portion of a well-known knitting-machine to which myimprovement is applied to enable my said invention to beunderstood. Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale, shows the upper end of one of the standards and the thickening-thread and cutting mechanism mounted thereon; Fig. 3, a view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, looking from the opposite or back side thereof. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail showing the Winder and cutting mechanism; Fig. 5, a vertical section on the dotted line a: fr, Fig. 2; Fig. 6, a cross-section on the line x' x', Fig. 5; and Fig. 7, a detail showing the cam 0T.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1, the top plate A, supported upon suitable standards i A' A', provided with the two curbs 100, each containing a cam-cylinder operated from the shaft des; the sliding rod dconnecting the cam-rings of the two cam-cylinders and moved to shift said rings at the beginning of the reciprocations of the cam-cylinders for narrowing and widening; the pattern-wheel o23, actuated by its attached ratchet-wheel G21 and making one complete rotation at each operation of narrowing and widening, and other parts shown in Fig. l are and maybe substantially like corresponding parts similarly lettered in the Mayo, machine illustrated in United States Patent No. 474,671, dated May l0, 1892, said parts being constructed and operated substantially as set forth in the said patent, to which reference may be had, further description of the same herein being deemed unnecessary.

Upon the top plate of the machine Fig. l, I have herein arranged two standards t' t, broken off in Fig. 1 to get the iigure onto the sheet, but shown fully in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, said standards having their ends bent at substantially right angles, as shown, to form overhanging arms t t', said arms in turn having their ends turned downwardly at t2 and provided with eyes t3, vertically above and constituting guides through which the yarn or thread is fed to the needle-cylinders.

Extended between the standards il t' and journaled at its ends therein is a shaft t4, upon which are fixed two like sectors m fm, one for and at each standard, said shaft at its middle (see Figs. l and 4L) having an actuating-arm m', connected by a rod m2 with a slotted lever 71.29,'connected to and vibrated by the sliding rod d3 .referred to.

Inasmuch as the mechanisms upon the IOO standards vl t' are similar, I will herein describe but one of them in detail, it being understood that both are alike and both operated by the common shafts 4 and o5, to be referred to.

Each sector m along the side of its curved periphery is shown provided at one side with a friction-strip m4 of rawhide or other suitable friction material to engage the milled or otherwise roughened periphery of a hub n (see Figs. 3 and 6) of aratchet-wheeln, loosely journaled upon a stud n2, projecting from the interior of an inclosing shell n3, bolted at n4 or otherwise suitably attached to the overhanging arm i on the adjacent standard z'. Close to the ratchet-wheel n and loosely journaled upon the same stud n2 is a toothed wheel 01.5, provided with a pawl n, engaging the teeth of the ratchet-wheel n', (see Fig. 5,) a spring nl' maintaining the said pawl in operative engagement with the said ratchet-teeth, rotation of the hub fn, and its ratchet-wheel in one direction giving a like rotation to the toothed wheel W5, while rotation of the said hub and ratchet-wheel in the opposite direction takes place independently of and without moving the said toothed wheel a5. The toothed wheel a5 (see Fig. 5) meshes with and drives a pinion fas, which tsee Fig. 6) is loosely jou rnaled about a stud a9, rmly held in the cover 913x of the inclosing shell n3.

'I he pinion ns is provided with a rotary tubular Winder, shown as an annular lip or sleeve n10, extending laterally to one side and surrounding the projecting end of the stud 019, (see Fig. 6,) and to the inner grooved face of this annular lip n10 are secured a plurality of projections n, preferably of wire or bristles in the form of a ring-like brush, the ends of the said projections or wires being curved or flared outwardly, as in the form shown, where holding-slots are provided between the adjacent wires or bristles forming the brush portion of the winder.

Thestud n", as herein shown, is provided with two longitudinal holes uw and w13, which constitute, respectively, main and thickening yarn or thread guides, the main yarn or thread being passed through the guide m12, thence through the eye i3 in the overhanging arm, and, through a take-up to be described, to the needles, the thickening-thread being passed through the guide 'm13 and having its end drawn to one side (see Fig. 4) between and held or clamped by the projections or wire-like bristles on the pinion 'ns referred to.

It is usually desired to introduce a thickening-thread at the heel and toe of a stocking, to form which it is necessary to reciprocate the cam-cylinder. In the present instance when the slide-rod 033 is moved to the right, Fig. l, to shift the cam-rings preparatory to reciprocating the cam-cylinder such movement of the said rod, acting through the lever 7529, the rod m2, and sector m, will rotate the ratchetwheel n', its toothed wheel m5, and the pinion ns in the direction indicated by the arrows thereon in Fig. 5 to cause the end of the thickening-thread held by the projections on the pinion to be rapidly wound about and upon the main thread passing through the threadguide 71.12 to the needles, so that the said main thread will draw the thickening-thread with it to the work, the free end of the said thickening-thread readily disengaging itself from the projections which held it clamped in position. It now remains to sever the thickening-thread at the end of the reciprocations of the cam-cylinder when the said thread is no longer needed. The mechanism herein employed for this purpose is best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, wherein 0 is a bracket secured to one side of the overhangin g arm t' of the standard, and to the side of this bracket, upon a screw o', is pivoted the three-armed lever 02, its three arms being herein distinguished by the gures l, 2, and 3.

The arm 2 of the three-armed lever o2 is herein shown as connected by a rearwardlyextended link 03 with one arm o4, (see Fig. 2,) fast on one end of a shaft o5, journaled at its ends in the two standards t' 't' and provided at its middle, between said standards, with an arm 05X, to which is jointed one end of a rod o6, which (see Fig. l) extends downwardly through the top plate of the machine and at its lower end rests upon the peripheral surface of a cam o7, fast on the shaft of the pattern-wheel o23 and shown separately in Fig. 7, a spring 08 (see Fig. l) acting to retain the said rod o6 always in operative contact with the said cam.

The arm l of the three-armed lever 02 is shown as split to receive a finger o9, hooked at its outer end, as shown, and clamped in the said arm by means of a clamping-screw 010.

The cutting device herein shown consists of two cutting-blades 011 012, the latter of which is fixed to the bottom of the bracket o, while the former is pivoted thereto at 013 and is provided with an arm 014, which stands in a position (see Fig. 4) between and adapted to be struck by the arms l and 3 of the threearmed lever 02 when the latter is vibrated. Assuming the thickening-thread to have been wound upon the main thread, and thereby drawn into the work, and that it is now desired to sever the thread and hold it out of operation, the mechanism described operates as follows, viz: The pattern-wheel o23 rotates, as stated, once during the narrowing and widening of the workthat is, once from the beginning to the end of the reciprocations of the cam-cylinder. During the rotation of this pattern-wheel the cam o7 is rotated thereby and gradually raises the rod 0(i and turns the three-armed lever o2 in the direction of the arrow 5, Fig. 4, raising its hooked finger 09 above the thickening-thread passing to the work, the said thread being pushed to one side by and to permit the raising of the said hooked finger. This movement of the threearmed lever 02 causes its finger 3 to strike the arm o14 of the cutting-blade 011 and move the IOC IIO

latter away from its companion blade o12 to open the two cutter-blades, like a pair of scissors, as shown in Fig. 4. i Immediately before the pattern-wheel completes its rotation and stops the reciprocations of the cam-cylinder the end of the rod 0G, acted upon by the spring o8, drops from the highest point of the cam 07 to the lowest point thereof, permitting the said spring to depress the rod 06 and return the three-armed lever 02 again to its normal full-line position, Fig. 2, in a direction opposite the arrow 5, said return movement of the three-armed lever causing its hooked iinger o9 to catch the thickening-thread and draw it down or to one side its line of movement, as shown in Fig. 4, between two of the clamping projections 'nu on the pinion its, and between the two cutting-blad es o:l1 012, further and nal movement of the said three-armed lever causing its arm l to strike the arm o14 of the movable cutting-blade o1l and' move the latter toward its companion blade to sever the thickening-thread and leave its end clamped or held firmly between the projections nu on the pinion between which it was drawn. 'The portion of the thickening-thread beyond the cutis drawn to the machine and incorporated in the work before the reciprocations of the cam-cylinder are terminated by the patternwheel c23 reaching the end of its rotation. The slide-rod d3 is now returned to the left into its normal position to return the cam-rings to their normal positions for circular work, and thereby the sector m. again into its lowerm ost position, Fig. 2, such return movement of the sector, however, failing to rotate the pinion ng with its projections, because of the pawl-andratchet connection between the ratchet-wheel and the toothed wheel n.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, 1f is a takeup arm held at its end in a suitable yoke-like lever t', pivoted at t2 to a lug on the top of the overhanging arm t" of the standard, the free end of the said takeup arm being turned downwardly, as shown, and provided with an eye t3, through which the thread or yarn is led to the needle. A friction-washer or retarding device t4, interposed at the pivot t2, between the yoke tf and the lug to which it is pivoted, serves to retard or give to the said take-up a substantially slow free movement in either direction for a purpose to be described. Pivoted to the same lug and moving about the same axis t2 as the take-up arm is a lifter t5, having an arm t, connected by aspringt7 with the standard, said spring tending to raise the said lifter. The sector m is herein shown as provided with an arm t8, which when the sector is in its lowermost normal position, Fig. 2, strikes the arm t of the lifter t5 and depresses the latter, holding itin its depressed full-line position, Fig. 2, the take-up t then lying in its lowermost inoperative position, as shown, with its eye t3 axially in line with the eye t3Y and the mainyarn guide within the pinion n.8. When the sector fm is raised to draw in the thickeningthe spring t7.v At the end of the reciproca-V tions of the cam-cylinder when the take-up is no longer needed the dropping of the sector m by movement of the slide-rod d3 referred to causes its arm 158 to strike the `arm t6' of the lifter and depress the latter into its position, Fig. 2, the retarding or friction device t4, however, retaining the take-up still in its elevated position, permitting the latter to be drawn down gradually by the thread as the latter is worked into the stocking or other article being made. y

s sl` are two friction-plates which are separated and closed by the action of the lifter t5 in usual manner to clamp the thread or yarn when the take-up is elevated and to release the same when the take-up is depressed.

In take-ups as heretofore constructed, so far as known to me, the take-up arm is positively depressed into its inoperative full-line position, Fig. 2, at or near the end of the reciprocations of the cam-cylinder, causing a sudden and considerable slackening of the thread before it can be worked up by the machine. In myimproved take-up herein shown, however, the lifter which holds the take-up in its elevated or operative position is del pressed, as usual, at or near the end of the reciprocations of the cam-cylinder; but the take-up arm itself being independent of the lifter and provided with a retarding or friction device remains in its elevated "position and is drawn down gradually by the working up of the thread or yarn, preventing any undue slackening of the latter.

Ico

The pinion its, with its attached projections u u, constitutes one form of what I term a rotatable Winder to act upon the main and thickening threads passed through their iiXed guides nl? and n.13 and wind said threads one upon the other.

I have herein shown my improvement as applied to the well-known Mayo 7 machine; but my invention is not restricted t0` its use in connection with this machine alone, for it may be lapplied in connection with any knitting-machine and connected to suitable parts to actuate the Winder and cutting devices at the proper times; neither is my`inventionV limited to the particular embodiment or construction herein shown, for it is evident that the same may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described one embodiment of my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1.In a knitting-machine, the combination with main and thickening thread guides, of a combined Winder and clamp provided with a plurality of projections in which the free end of the thickening-thread is clamped, and means to rotate said combined Winder and clamp to wind the said main thread and the end of said thickening-thread one upon the other, substantially as described.

2. In a knitting-machine, the combination with main and thickening thread guides, of a rotatable Winder to wind one thread -upon the other, a cutting device, and means to draw the thickeningthread to one side its line of movement into position to be severed by said cutting device, substantially as described.

3. In a knitting-machine, the combination with main and thickening thread guides, of a combined Winder and clamp provided with a series of clamping projections, a cutting device and a linger, and actuating mechanism for and to move the latter to draw the said thickening-thread to one side into position to be clamped by said projections and into position to be severed by said cutting device, substantially as described.

4. In a knitting-machine, a pivoted takeup arm, and a retarding device to control the free movement of the same; a lifter, an actuating-spring for and to raise the same into and maintain it in operative position; and means to move said lifter away from the said take-up to permit the latter to be freely moved by the thread into inoperative position, substantially as described.

5. In a knitting-machine, the combination with a guide device for a plurality of threads, of a rotary Winder for carrying the end of one thread one or more times about another, holding means, and means for drawing one of said threads to one side its line of movement into position for engagement by said holding means.

6. In a knitting-machine the combination with a guide device for a plurality of threads, of a rotary Winder for carrying the end of one thread one or more times about another, holding means, means for drawing one of said threads to one side its line of movement into position for engagement by said holding means, and means for severing said thread.

7. In a knitting-machine, the combination with a guide device for a plurality of threads, of a rotary Winder for carrying the end of one thread one or more times about another, a cutter, and means to draw one of said threads to one side to be severed by said cutter.

8. In a knitting-machine, the combination with va guide device for a plurality of threads, of a rotary Winder through which said threads are passed, one or more projections on said Winder, and means to draw one of said threads to one side and leave its end in the path of movement of said projection or projections, to 'be rotated thereby.

9. In a knitting-machine, the combination With a guide device for a plurality of threads, of a rotary Winder for winding the end of one thread about another, and means for rotating said Winder in one direction and preventing rotation of the same in an opposite direction.

l0. In a feed mechanism for a knitting-machine, the combination of a tubular twister slotted at one end, means for rotating said twister, and means for throwing a thread into engagement with the slotted end of said twister.

1l. In a feed mechanism for a knitting-machine, the combination of a tubular twister slotted at one end, means for throwing a yarn into engagement with the slotted end of said twister, means for rotating said twister, and means for cutting o said yarn.

l2. In a feed mechanism for a knitting-machine, the combination of a device provided with an open slot or slots, means for throwing a yarn into a slot thereof, and means for rotating said device to Wind the thread engaging said slot around another thread, these slots serving frictionally to hold the thread and permit the latter to be readily disengaged therefrom.

13. In a feed mechanism for a knitting-machine, the combination of a rotary Winder for winding one thread about another, and means for rotating said Winder, means for throwing a thread into winding engagement with said Winder, a cutter, and means actuating said cutter, connected with said thread-throwing mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR N. AMES.

Witnesses:

FRED W. H. PORTER, JAMES E. BARNARD.

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